More than 40 arrested in West Yorkshire 'county lines' crackdown

Victims of "cuckooing" were also identified during the campaign, West Yorkshire Police said

More than £620,000 worth of class A drugs has been seized and 42 people arrested in a major crackdown on "county lines" crime in West Yorkshire.

Officers across five districts uncovered 32 knives and one machete during the campaign, police said.

Nearly £8,000 in suspected criminal cash was also confiscated during the crackdown earlier this month.

A West Yorkshire Police spokesperson said the "message is clear" that such activities would "not be tolerated".

County lines is the term used to describe drug-dealing networks connecting urban and rural areas, using phone lines across the UK and which often involves the exploitation of children and young people.

'Vulnerable people'

A police spokesperson said that of those arrested, six were female, 39 were adults and three were children.

Officers safeguarded eight males and three females and visited two addresses where the occupants were believed to be victims of "cuckooing", they added.

Cuckooing is the term used when someone's house is taken over by gangs to be used for criminal activity, including dealing drugs.

Drugs seized during the crackdown, which was part of a national operation, included 15kg of cocaine, 28g of heroin and 20g of crack cocaine, as well as 11kg of packaged cannabis and more than 1,900 cannabis plants.

Det Ch Insp Lee Townley, from West Yorkshire Police, said: "County lines drug dealing has a detrimental effect on communities across the country, including here in West Yorkshire and involves criminals placing vulnerable young people at risk of exploitation and harm.

"Not only are we arresting those responsible and seizing their illicit goods, but we're also engaging with, and educating, people to look out for the signs of county lines."